Friday evening sees the Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC host the Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 in the USL’s Western Conference Quarterfinals.
The Switchbacks earned the right to contest at least one playoff game at Switchbacks Stadium after finishing the 2016 USL regular season as the overall No. 3 seed in the Western Conference. Vancouver finished four points behind Friday’s hosts thus earning WFC2 the No. 6 seed.
Wednesday evening sees the Vancouver Whitecaps of MLS host Trinidad and Tobago’s Central F.C. in the CONCACAF Champions League at Vancouver’s BC Place. The match marks the final Group C game for the Whitecaps, who have already qualified for the quarterfinals as group winners.
Central F.C. hosted the Whitecaps in the opening game of Group C play on August 2nd at Ato Boldin Stadium in Couva, Trinidad and Tobago. The Whitecaps prevailed 1-0 after a 34th minute goal from Uruguayan winger Christian Techera. With their place in the CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinals already guaranteed it’s anyone’s guess which players will feature for the Whitecaps on Wednesday night.
What is for certain is just how seriously the Whitecaps FC 2 are invested in the 2016 USL season. Thirty-eight players have seen action for WFC2 this season. For comparison, twenty-seven players have appeared for the Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC.
Currently 8th in the MLS’s Western Conference, the Whitecaps’ hopes of making the 2016 MLS Cup Playoffs are all but doomed. Three MLS games remain for the senior Whitecaps squad, with nothing short of a miracle needed for Vancouver to somehow edge out both the Portland Timbers and Seattle Sounders to clinch the 6th and final MLS Cup Playoff position.
With the Whitecaps almost assured of missing the MLS Cup Playoffs, and with their place in the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals already booked, it won’t come as a surprise for the Whitecaps organization to focus their efforts on a strong run with WFC2 in the 2016 USL Playoffs.
Whitecaps FC 2 captain Kyle Greig leads WFC2 in scoring with 11 goals during the 2016 regular season. Also with 3 assists, Greig gained invaluable USL Playoff experience last season as a member of the Oklahoma City Energy FC – the team that ultimately ended the Switchbacks’ inaugural playoff run in the Western Conference Semi-Finals.
Canadian international striker Daniel Haber leads WFC2 with 30 appearances this season while also leading his club in shots on goal. Tied on 7 goals with fellow Canadian international Marco Bustos, Haber gives WFC2 a dynamic forward outlet.
Defensively, WFC2 are organized around Dutch center back Sem de Wit. Friday’s probable starting goalkeeper Spencer Richey looks to build on a tremendous performance that saw the WFC2 keeper make 9 saves against the Switchbacks on July 29th at Switchbacks Stadium. Ultimately finishing 1-1, the game could have easily seen the Switchbacks run away as victors were it not for Richey’s repeated heroics.
A graduate of the University of Washington, Richey has spent his entire professional career in the Pacific Northwest, and was replaced by Marco Carducci ahead of the Switchbacks’ 2-0 win over WFC2 on September 11th . Two goals from captain Luke Vercollone sealed the Switchbacks’ win at Thunderbird Stadium on the campus of the University of British Columbia in a feisty match that saw 18-year- old WFC2 defender Matthew Baldisimo sent off.
“Vancouver will be hungry to win – there’s no doubt about that,” said Switchbacks Head Coach Steve Trittschuh when asked about Friday’s matchup. “Obviously they [WFC2] have the Champions League on Wednesday, so we’ll have to wait until the last minute to see who’s going to be here, but whomever they bring it will be a strong team.”
A three match winning streak for Steve Trittschuh’s squad was ended in unceremonious fashion last Saturday night in Irvine, California as the Switchbacks fell to a 4-0 loss at the hands of the Orange County Blues. Two stoppage-time goals for the hosts not only condemned the Switchbacks to their first ever four-goal deficit, but also handed the Blues the 8th and final position in the 2016 USL Playoffs.
The OC Blues will travel to Sacramento Republic’s Bonney Field on Saturday, October 1st at 8:30 p.m. MT.
“I told the players after the game in Orange County that a performance like that is not what this team is about,” said Trittschuh. “We’ve got to make sure we prepare this week for Friday’s game in the right way.”
When asked about using last weekend’s loss against the Blues as motivation for Friday’s playoff game, Switchbacks Assistant Head Coach Wolde Harris couldn’t have been clearer: “That was a one-off game. It’s up to us now to balance that result – we need to use it as motivation, but also stay focused on the plan that’s gotten us this far. From here on out we’ve got to keep our focus on what’s ahead of us. We have to pay attention to the details and come out on Friday with the right energy.”
A fully healthy squad, although unusual at this point in a season that started for the Switchbacks on March 26th , graces the Switchbacks as they embark on their second playoff run in as many seasons of existence as a franchise.
While non-committal when asked about roster changes for Friday’s match against WFC2, Head Coach Trittschuh admitted that all options are on the table after the lopsided result against the OC Blues. “We’ll train this week and see who is ready to play at the level we’ll need against Vancouver. Places are always open and the players need to show us in training what they’re all about. We’ve got to step up our game, both individually and as a group, but if we show up to play on Friday we’ll be ok.”
The winner of Friday’s contest will face either the Rio Grande Valley FC Toros or the Oklahoma City Energy. RGVFC and the Energy will square off on Saturday evening at Toro Stadium in Edinburg, Texas – 6:30 p.m. MT. RGVFC earned the right to host Saturday’s match after finishing the regular season as the Western Conference’s No. 2 seed, while the OKC Energy qualified for the playoffs in the No. 7 position. An RGVFC victory would send the Switchbacks to Edinburg, Texas as the Toros hold the higher seed, while Switchbacks Stadium will host the Western Conference Semifinals against OKC should the Energy prevail.
A third-place finish after a grueling 30-game regular season is a tremendous achievement for an independent USL club like the Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC. But the dream at the start of this year’s preseason – in those frigid and frosty matches against the Air Force Academy Falcons and Colorado State University, Pueblo, ThunderWolves, just to name two – was not to dominate the regular season. The ultimate goal for the Switchbacks’ players and coaches was to lift the USL Cup on October 23 rd .
That dream, no matter the final result of the Switchbacks’ loss in Orange County, is very much intact. When the last ball of the 2016 USL regular season was kicked, twelve clubs finished behind the Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC in the Western Conference. Twelve. With a victory on Friday evening, surrounded by the quickly-changing-to- fall trees of Colorful Colorado, the Switchbacks will take their first step towards the 2016 USL Championship.
“I hope our fans turn out in huge numbers on Friday,” said former Jamaican international Wolde Harris. “We need our stadium packed like never before.”
